GUEST VIEW: Newport’s future is with the past

By Glenn R. Gardiner

Friday

Aug 31, 2018 at 9:14 AMAug 31, 2018 at 9:14 AM

I recently attended the lecture by architect Stephen Semes hosted by the Redwood Library. Semes is an associate professor and director of Notre Dame’s School of Architecture program in Rome and the author of The Future of the Past: A Conservation Ethic for Architecture, Urbanism, and Historic Preservation.

I was impressed by the attendance demonstrating a high level of community interest in the historic built environment, although only a few millennials. I thank the Redwood for providing a forum encouraging an exchange of ideas. In his talk, he discussed the successes and failures of the historic preservation movement over the past 50 years. In brief, the debate centers around whether new architecture in an historic setting should defer to its neighboring buildings and embody the same design language or should the new design reflect contemporary tastes and materials?

Semes stresses the need to be harmonious and deferential to the historic context. To accomplish this, he asks the architect to look to the classical orders and the teachings of Vitruvius to find inspiration. It is a good starting point, but I suggest there are other forms of expression to employ to create exemplary architecture that reflect the time period we live in today. Newport is a living architectural museum and this makes it unique among American cities. Semes would like to imagine Newport as a village like Williamsburg where time and buildings are frozen: never to change, evolve or contribute to the 21st century.

Newport has always attracted leading architects of the day dating back to the early 18th century. Many consider Peter Harrison who arrived in Newport in the 1740 to be America’s first architect. A long list of renowned architects came after including Charles McKim, Stanford White and an early modernist trailblazer, Irving Gill, who was a colleague of Frank Lloyd Wright. The list is long until the 20th Century, featuring few if any notable modernists. What caused this vacuum of talent?

In his lecture, Semes highlighted three recent construction projects in Newport — two new buildings — Trinity Church’s new Community Center (a proposal), The Breakers Welcome Center (built), and a new entry addition to the headquarters of the Newport Historical Society (built). According to Semes' grading standards, these design projects all flunked, for a variety of reasons. In brief, in his opinion, the designs of these buildings are not harmonious with their historic context and create a tension due to the more modern design interpretation. I believe many in the audience share his position.

There are some dissenting views, however. The Rev. Anne Marie Richards from Trinity Church, who was in attendance, clarified some points Semes made with regard to the new Trinity Community Center. Semes presented a scheme depicting a large stone portico with colossal stone Doric columns in lieu of the transparent glass façade that is being reconsidered. He presented a design option without knowledge of the client’s needs or their stated goals. The reverend made it clear, that though Semes' design incorporated historic classical detailing, it was totally inappropriate in scale, competing rather than complementing the original church. In her view, his proposal was uninviting and intimidating. Most importantly, it lacked the defining character of openness and welcoming nature the committee demanded of the new entrance. It should be noted that the design he was critiquing received Newport Historic District Commission approval three years ago by meeting all of their design criteria.

Trinity Church is now considering alternative designs for the new Community Center with a new Building Committee which will be faced with the same task and high expectations. Whether the Building Committee ultimately selects a solution defined by the classical or modern tradition, the challenge remains the same — an expressive design that embraces community, openness, light and optimism. As the Rev. Richards stated, the church is almost 300 years old and it is not the same church that it was when erected in 1725. The Trinity Church of 2018 wants to strengthen its bond with the broader Newport community and look to this Community Center as a symbol of that bond. Turning this vibrant Community Center into a stone Greek temple may not be the best way to represent that bold vision.

To find out more about the Trinity Community Center, please go to their website: trinitynewport.org/trinity-serves/

Gardiner is a registered architect licensed to practice in Rhode Island since 1983 and is a partner-of-counsel at Northeast Collaborative Architects (NCA) who lives in Newport and works primarily in Rhode Island.

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